Libya needs longer time for "accurate" parliamentary election results

TRIPOLI, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Libya's electoral commission said here on Sunday it needs more time than expected to publish the final results for parliamentary elections.

Emad al-Sayeh, chairman of Libya's High National Electoral Commission, said a more "accurate" parliamentary election result will be released on July 20, a week later than the original time frame.

The announcement came when the preliminary results at 24 polling stations were said to be involved in fraud.

According to Libya's political transitional plan, the vote will elect a new parliament, the House of Representatives, to replace the current General National Congress. The new assembly will be responsible for organizing a presidential election to end the country's transitional period

A total of 1714 contestants are vying for the 200 seats in the new parliament. The election has raised hopes to break the deadlock between the secular groups and Islamists, and to return the country back on the right track after three years of political chaos and growing unrest since the 2011 turmoil which toppled former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

However, the vote was marred by a low turnout rate and high frequency of violence in some major cities like Benghazi and Derna, igniting countrywide concerns over whether any substantial change can be delivered.